thank you very much. >>> in his weekly address, president obama gave an upbeat outlook for the economy this year. >> we are poised to grow in 2013. the real signs of progress, home prices are starting to climb again. sales are at a five-year high. manufacturing is roaring back. businesses created $2.2 million jobs last year. we just learned our economy created more jobs over the past few months than originally thought. >> joining me is elijah cummings. sir, nice to see you. thanks for joining me. it was a mixed bag for the economy. the gdp detracted but there were good numbers in the report. listening to the president, he sounded optimistic. how do you see the economy? >> i see the economy as being fragile. but definitely moving in the right direction. alex, it's why we have to be so careful with regard to what we do in congress. a lot of the problems that could come about with regard to gdp is a result of the public and business feeling a certain level of uncertainty. we have to make -- we have to do what we are supposed to do in congress, come to reasonable decisions. we have to have